Sales Manager: Resume Summary or Resume Objective?

Diane has finished her coffee, and she’s picking up the next stack of resumes. You’re up first. Are you ready?

She’s not going to read every word of your sales manager resume. You’ve got six seconds to get her attention. You need an intro that leaps off the page.

What is this intro? It’s your resume summary or resume objective. Think of it like an elevator pitch on paper.

It should be no more than three lines at the top of your resume, and it should make Diane want to read on.

Okay, so which one should you write?

A resume summary is for experienced sales managers. It’s a short, creative introduction to your career progress.

This means a sales manager resume summary is perfect for you if:

You’ve played on the sales team, and now you’re the coach.

You need a senior sales manager resume.

Here’s a sample of an automotive sales manager resume summary:

right

Enthusiastic Automotive Sales Manager with 5 years of experience motivating and leading sales teams to victory. Consistently increased automotive sales over 15% annually. Completed Purdue University training in Lean Manufacturing.

wrong

Experienced Sales Manager seeks a job to use my talents and skills in. I always meet sales goals, and I enjoy leading sales teams.

Remember: You need to highlight your career progress and achievements to show your value. Never miss an opportunity to use your sales manager resume to demonstrate your knack for the job.

Our resume builder (you can create your resume here) will give you tips and examples on how to write your resume summary or any other section. You can easily copy them straight into your resume - it will save you a ton of time.

Do you want a career change? Then a resume objective is for you. It includes your current experience and describes why you want to make a change and how it makes sense for the hiring manager to place their bet on you.

Are you looking for an entry-level position? Some companies offer entry-level sales manager training programs for recent grads, so a resume objective is what they want to see.

Go with a sales manager resume objective if:

You play on the sales team, but you’d like to become the coach.

You want to take the leap from car sales manager to corporate sales manager.

You’re a recent general sales management graduate, but you’re ready to lead.

Here’s a sample of a sales and marketing sales manager resume objective:

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Dedicated business management graduate with a specialization in sales and marketing management. Earned the top sales award during an internship through strong leadership and attention to the need for change. Seeking a challenging entry-level sales manager training program position.

wrong

I am a business management graduate who specialized in sales looking for a sales management position.

Look at the wrong example. That’s nice, but your resume objective should tell the recruiter that you’ve got the specific skills they are looking for.

Pro Tip: Recruiters want to see resumes tailored to the open position. Do you want to land that dream job interview? You need to tailor your resume for a sales manager position to increase your chances of getting an interview. You can do it easily! Check out our guide for advice: “Six Tips on How to Tailor Your Resume to a Job Description (Examples)”

No matter what resume format you’re going with, you’ll be listing the jobs you’ve held starting from the most recent.

You know you have to use up to six bullet points to talk about your experience. But...

How do you show off your skills and achievements?

A great way to do this is to include numbers because they jump off the page first.

right

wrong

Recognized for increasing territory sales revenue by 10% in the first 30 days.

Made sales revenues rise in the first month.

Wait, there’s more!

Diane sees the words “responsible for” on every resume. This makes her yawn. Powerful action verbs will ensure that your resume hooks her attention.

Instead of writing you were “responsible for” a new sales project on your corporate sales manager resume, say that you “spearheaded” that project. Those strong words set you apart from other applicants.

Have you heard about the robots?

A corporate job offer can attract more than 250 resumes, so many companies use a robot to compare your resume with the job description before it gets passed to a human.

To do battle with this ATS (Applicant Tracking System) software, you need to incorporate keywords from the job description into your resume in a natural way. Don’t just copy and paste. The robots don’t like that.

Let’s put all of this together.

Here’s an example of a professional sales manager job description from an ad with the key skills underlined:

Responsibilities:

Analyze sales statistics to define sales potential.

Ensure customer satisfaction and resolve customer issues.

Manage day-to-day performance of sales team.

Motivate, train, and coach sales staff while applying feedback.

Build consistent lead generation with the marketing team.

Monitor performance metrics of sales team and report data.

Now, here’s an example of a customized experience entry on an area sales manager resume:

right

Area Sales Manager

Kaplan Education 2014 – 2016

San Francisco, CA

Spearheaded a team of 12 associates by building enthusiasm and adapting feedback.

How to Put Skills on a Sales Manager’s Resume

Rolling out the same sales campaign as every other company won’t make your product stand out.

The same applies to skills on your resume.

Which skills should you include on a perfect sales manager resume?

Hiring managers are looking for a combination of your hard skills and soft skills from the fast-paced world of sales.

Study the sales manager job description and include your corresponding skills. This will help you overthrow the ATS software, and it will catch the eye of the hiring manager.

What are some typical key skills for a sales manager resume?

You can find many of them in the job description. However, here are the most common skills:

Leadership

Your team needs to get results. You need to be able to lead them to victory with motivation and conflict resolution.

Delegation

You can’t do everything yourself. Even Mark Zuckerberg knows the importance of delegation.

Vision / Analysis

You need to look forward and analyze sales numbers to find cost-saving opportunities and areas for improvement.

Technical skills

You need to be adept at using the technology of your trade. Are you a master of Salesforce? Put that in your skills section.

Communication

You have to be able to convey goals and receive feedback.

Customer Service

The ability to deal with an unhappy customer or entertain a high-profile client is crucial.

Reporting

The technical skills involved in tracking and reporting data are important.

Pro Tip: Need more skills ideas? Have a look at other sales manager job descriptions online. Or put your feet up with a cup of coffee and make a list of the key skills you require of your team. You’ll end up with a great list of your skills.

Okay. You’ve got your key skills in mind. Now how do you word them on your resume for a sales manager position so they dazzle?

Draw attention to your skills with action verbs. Don’t forget to tailor them to the job description.

Here are some sample skills to include on a resume for a sales manager:

How to Add Other Sections for an Effective Resume

Competition in sales is fierce, and you’re driven to snatch attention. You can do the same on your resume by adding an awards section.

Or, depending on what you sell, you might want to show off the training courses you’ve completed in your career on your territory sales manager resume.

If this is the case, add a relevant section to your professional sales manager resume.

Pro Tip: Is it unprofessional to include your hobbies on a resume? No. This trend is coming back around, so it’s something to consider as a way to set yourself apart from the competition and show your cultural fit.

How?

Keep your wording short and snappy.

Here’s an example of wording to showcase the award you’re so proud of:

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Top Salesperson of the Year at The Gap in 2015.

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In 2015, I won an award for being Top Salesperson of the Year at The Gap.

The hobbies section is controversial.

It’s a bit of a relic of the nineties — a time when you had to prove you’re an actual human being.

And what better way to do this than by menting your love of books, travel, and socializing with friends, right?

Wrong.

Add a hobbies section to your sales manager resume only if it shows you’re a perfect cultural fit.

Some people think the cover letter is dead. Well, it is most certainly not. It’s alive and well! Just like Jon Snow.

Half of all recruiters toss out applications without cover letters. Include one, and you will greatly increase your chances of landing that regional sales manager position.

Pro Tip: Tailor your cover letter to the job offer too. Someone worked hard to craft that job description. It explains who the company is searching for, so tell them how you meet their needs in your sales manager resume cover letter.

Is there a gap in your job history? Are you dying to transition from a sales assistant to a sales manager? Are you desperate to shift sales industries? A great cover letter is the place to explain your story.

Key Takeaway

You can sell a steaming mug of hot chocolate in the baking desert, and you can motivate your team even before they’ve had their coffee. And now you can write a professional sales manager resume that will get you that dream job. Here's how:

Tailor your resume to the sales manager job description.

Sell your best achievements, don't just list your past duties.

At the top of your sales manager resume, include a resume objective or summary.

After you submit your application, don't forget to follow up!

Do you still want more advice and expert tips for your best sales manager resume? Have you got more questions about the right skills to include? Tell us in the comments section. We’re always happy to hear from you, and we’re here to help!

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Author

Jenny Blake

Jenny is a freelance writer, editor, and trainer. She loves languages, coffee, and helping people any way she can. She lives in Warsaw with her moody cat, Loladzika.